Friday, June 8th, 2007
Luebke is selected 63rd overall by Padres
By Gary R. Rasberry
Just as he planned, Cory Luebke spent Thursday afternoon golfing with friends and family as the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place.
Late in the afternoon, he got the call that he has been waiting for.
Luebke was selected by the San Diego Padres with the 63rd pick of the draft in the first Compensatory Round, a round between the first and second rounds used to compensate teams that were unable to sign draft picks the year before.
Needless to say, Luebke was in a great mood.
"I'm excited and ecstatic," said Luebke during a telephone conversation after getting the news.
The Padres went with pitching in the first round, selecting Arkansas southpaw Nick Schmidt with the 23rd pick of the draft.
Having been draft-eligible two times before, including last season when he went in the 22nd round to Texas, Luebke didn't want to think a lot about where he might go during the 50 rounds, which does not include the two compensatory rounds.
Wednesday evening in a conversation, Luebke said that he would be spending his day in the usual fashion, taking a final exam at Ohio State and golfing with a group of friends.
"I was out on the course with Todd (Ohio State quarterback - and Cory's cousin - Todd Boeckman) and other family members," said Luebke. "Late in the day I got a call from the Padres. The man said 'Welcome to the family.'
"I had heard that the Padres and two other teams were looking at me in the compensatory round. I don't know. I try not to worry about where I am going. ... Having been in two drafts before, you never know where you will end up."
As for now, Luebke will sit back and relax.
"It will be a couple of days," said Luebke. "My agent will talk to the team and they will work out a contract."
When Luebke signs, something he said was likely to happen before the draft, the Padres have several sites he could report to in the minor leagues. San Diego has one Rookie League program in Arizona and three Single-A affiliates, one of them being the Fort Wayne Wizards of the Midwest League.
